If
by Sundarii
Summary: And he will stand still as the man he loves like his own kin runs forward and ends his life. Sasuke.Hinata. *Warning: Character death.*


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Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.

Note: This is for silt, who was my 100th reviewer for Epoch! Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it! (Honestly, this story must have been rewritten like 4 times before I decided I liked the plot enough to go through with it…)

Thanks again to my wonderful beta Celia.

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_|| Heaven, bend to take my hand ||_

_|| lead me through the fire ||_

They've surrounded him and Uchiha Sasuke knows he won't live through this one.

Karin , Juugo and Suigetsu have all fallen, courtesy of Sakura and Kakashi - and, surprisingly, Konohamaru--and Sasuke stands alone, as he really always has.

As the fight strains to its true end, the sixth Hokage stands helplessly in the back of the group, restrained by his need to do the right thing by his people (_to save his village from a ruthless avenger) _and the right thing by himself (_to save the only brother he's ever known)_. His sky blue eyes have already changed into a fiery orange color, and Sasuke accepts, without a doubt, that he will not live through this encounter.

Kakashi is to his right. Heavily injured, his old teacher still presents a massive threat.

Sakura is behind him. He wastes a precious millisecond pondering the symbolism.

His eyes swerve to the left, where Hyuuga Neji stands. The battle has been long, and grueling, and Sasuke smirks while Neji detachedly maintains his gaze; Konoha must have really wanted to off him this time if they even sent their prodigy shinobi.

There is a small, tense movement behind the Hyuuga and the smirk falls as his gaze lands on a Hyuuga Hinata. Her hair sticks to her face in a most unflattering manner, and there are several gashes along the length of her body. As he looks to her, his nonexistent heart beats for a moment and nearly droops out of his chest. _What is this emotion?_

In a moment of weakness Neji's eyes narrow angrily, cracking his stoic mask and breaking it into a hundred pieces. _Do not dare lay your filthy eyes on her._

Sasuke does not care; he cannot; with his calculations, he can assume that he has approximately 3 minutes to live. He fixes his gaze solidly on Hinata, who trembles under the force of the Sharingan. Her knees buckle, but she makes no noise. Only a small cry and Neji moves from his position swiftly, hands poised to kill.

Naruto stops him abruptly, and the two argue. But Sasuke doesn't care. He only has about a minute left, and he has to, HAS TO MAKE HER UNDERSTAND--

But the genjutsu weighs heavily on his physical strength, too. With a slight pang, he recognizes the emotion.

He's seen it in Sakura's eyes when she would gaze upon his face. He's seen it in Kakashi's face when he would look upon the grave of his fallen comrades. He sees it reflected in Naruto's eyes as he comes charging at him, characteristic rasengan swirling in the curve of his palm; an odd mixture of intense melancholy and longing.

He stands still as the man he loves like his own kin runs forward and ends his life.

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Not five minutes after his death, Uchiha Sasuke is cremated. His body lies in the same place it landed, and with a few wrist movements and six softly uttered words, it catches on fire. Sakura and the Hokage turn to each other for comfort; loud sobs echo off the forest floor and into the sky.

After watching the body burn, Neji turns to his younger cousin. "Are you alright?" he asks, feeling a little stupid as he watches her attempt to collect herself. Her eyes are bloodshot and her lips are swollen from trying to bite back her sobs. He is exhausted, though, and cannot muster the energy to care for trivialities.

"Yes," she lies.

He takes a seat on a nearby log, knocked down in battle not fifteen minutes before. Hinata trembles her way over and leans onto his shoulder. He places a ragged arm around her, and she sobs into his shoulder. A fresh pang of sympathy hits him.

"I'm sorry," she gasps.

Neji waits for her to calm, rubbing her back. "I have never endured the mangekyou sharingan. You are very strong."

"It was not painful," she protests tiredly. "You misunderstand."

Neji waits.

_Sasuke looks at her, and Hinata freezes. She cannot understand why she, in particular, amongst his old friends, has caught his sole attention, and she shifts uncomfortably. _

_Fear strikes her heart as he maintains eye contact. His sharingan is beginning to activate and Hinata panics. Why her, she's only here as a backup medic, why her, why her--_

_And she's caught. She falls to the floor, the physical strength drained from her body. _

_She floats in an angry red space. Has she been here for years? Is this death?_

_Hinata lets out a soft cry in surprise; her endless surroundings evolve into--into a room, painted a soft yellow, and the delighted giggles of children reach her ears. Sasuke is there, kneeling comfortably at the table. The sunlight entering the house warms the atmosphere in that special way only those happy households have._

_Hinata cannot even fathom how to ask him what is going on. Is this real? _

_She looks down and almost passes out from shock. On her body is the most beautiful white dress she's ever seen. Where are her war-torn clothes? Where is the blood? Where--where are her scars? Was that another lifetime? This cannot possibly be genjutsu--_

"_Oi!" Sasuke says almost lovingly towards the children. "Dinnertime."_

_He doesn't need to shout to get his point across. Three dark haired children run to the tables. One falls behind. "I'm not hungry," he pouts as he waddles towards her. He almost stumbles but keeps himself up by tugging at her long dress._

_The action forces Hinata to get a grip. She hesitantly picks the child up, glancing at Sasuke. She almost drops the toddler upon closer examination._

_This child has her eyes._

_Her own sting with tears. _

_She witnesses their lives through a succession of moments; their first meeting, the ninja academy, a wedding, the births of their children, first days of school, missions._

"A minute in the world of Mangekyou sharingan feels like years."

_She looks forward to see Sasuke. She wants to speak so badly, but cannot find the words--_

"If I could do it over again," _he says. He doesn't complete the sentence. He doesn't need to._

_When she blinks she's laying on a soft bed of peat and moss only a few feet away from the battle scene. Her clothes are dirty and bloody again, and she looks up. _

_Naruto blows a massive hole through Sasuke's body. _

The funeral pyre is beginning to burn down. Hinata weeps.

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Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the story, as well as Sasuke's characterization. He is an incredibly difficult person to write—I had to go back and forth with my beta to get a basic understanding of what his mind could possibly be like, and then use that knowledge to try to write a SasuHina. Review—let me know if you hated it or loved it! Thanks!

OOOOOHHHH BEFORE I FORGET!! This doesn't really pertain to anything narutoverse, buuuuutt I was wondering if anyone saw the previews for the movie _Precious_. It looks so amazing, you guys HAVE to go watch the trailer at youtube. I only watched the trailer, and I almost cried.


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